quarterbacks in the NFL and I've been saying for over
a year, he needs to get paid, he needs his contract, he needs
an agent of good Agent to get him the right contract. And I've
suggested that the Ravens offer to pay the fee because I think
at the end of
the day, Lamar Jackson doesn't have an agent because he
doesn't want to write that check. That's the Richard
Sherman Russell. Oh cooing approach. They resent the idea
of having to write a check every year for that one
percent.
At 2% 3%, if it just came out of your game checks, you
wouldn't notice it like taxes.
You notice this? Because you got to write the check, what am
I paying for here? What am I really paying? For, what did
you do? You made a few phone calls. It's easy to undermine
and downplay. What a good Agent does.
Good Agent. Put you in position
to get your contract, good Agent knows the market
and it's not that much in the grand scheme of things
until it's time to write the check.
Then it's the lat
1% of
40 million is.
Four hundred thousand dollars. I think.
Yes, it's four hundred thousand dollars that's a big check to
write a big check to write.
So I say all that because
Over the weekend, someone noticed Lamar Jackson had
changed, both his Twitter profile and Instagram profile
to include what turned out to be an image from the movie. How
High guy had a grill that says, I need money.
So it's focused on those. Those metal teeth saying I need money.
At a time when Lamar Jackson is supposedly negotiating with
the Ravens on his own.
He posts that message
and then when he's asked about it at is youth fund, a fourth
annual. Lamar Jackson fun day,
he's asked about it by a reporter. I, oh, I didn't,
I don't know what you're talking about. Why would anyone
think of? But come on Lamar, come on. And
this is a general admonition to all. Professional athletes and
celebrities out there.
We know you want attention and that's fine. It's fine to want
attention but don't think. Don't don't act like we're dumb
don't don't
don't I? Well, I would
Think about why would anyone think that is a message,
the Ravens when I post I need money.
On my social media Pages. Why would anyone think it's
a message to my current employer? The one that has been trying to
give me money for more than a year and that I have been
holding off. But now
all of a sudden I'm at the table
and coincidentally,
check my Twitter and Instagram profile for the message,
I need money.
There have been several
athletes over the years where I've made this point. The hey
everybody look at me. What the hell are you looking at?
Wanting attention on their own terms reserving, the right to
say
they are wrong to give me this attention because I don't want
this attention, that's fine. You got the right to do it but
we have the right to react to it. We have the right to say
this is kind of stupid. This kind of childish either
lack self-awareness
or you're just trolling us.
So either Lamar Jackson,
The self-awareness to realize the connection between
changing his social media profiles to the message. I need money
and reasonable people. Looking at it saying, that must be
a message to the Ravens. Are at a minimum, is it a message
raising the question, is it a message? So act like we're
We're being unreasonable. It's a reasonable reaction Lamar so
either there's no self-awareness
or it's just trolling
kind of like he did
when
Hollywood Brown got traded
and he reacted on social media like it was news to him.
when it wasn't news to him,
Again, people can tweet whatever they want, they can
put whatever they want on the profile, but the rest of us are
going to react to it. That's how it goes.
That's one of the bags you carry
when you are a high-profile
NFL player, don't act surprised that people react to anything
you say and do especially when the message is,
I need money.
He also said that he hopes to have his new contract
by the time training camp opens.
He says that a holdout isn't on his mind should be on his mind
looked at teams ready to pay him.
The problem is
the problem is it's time to sit down and talk.
You trying to
speak the same language here in. The problem is, sometimes
difficult. Things need to be said, by the player on behalf
of a player by the team on behalf of the team.
And when the messages are being communicated directly between
player and team that can get dicey, the player can come off
looking like,
he thinks too much of himself. Well, somebody's got to stand
up and make his case. Somebody's got to say. He's
great
that he deserves
more than DeShaun Watson.
If to Shawn, why
Thinking get a five-year 230 million dollar. Fully
guaranteed contract with 24, pending allegations of sexual
misconduct during massages.
Lamar Jackson who's never done anything that anyone can
question and is an MVP.
How is that not? The starting point for his conversation?
See, it's one thing for Lamar to citizen. I think for
an agent to say it on his behalf and I remember a few weeks ago,
when Lamar Jackson
spoke the team's mandatory minicamp and said those other
guys don't matter, I meet no no there's other guys do matter
that's how the markets determined, don't say that
because
the team's going to want to say that's crazy. Oh that's crazy.
That's kind of nobody's doing that anymore. All the markets
Don't know, bull crap.
The market is what the market is. Josh Allen. Raise the bar
Dak Prescott, raise the ball.
DeShaun Watson raise the bar
Lamar Jackson
raises the bar
because Lamar Jackson is worth it.
He needs an agent
to make that case for him.
It's been awkward has been messy. We'll see where it goes
from here and there's a risk and look whatever is either
side of it to
for the Ravens of, for Jackson
that contracts can be scrutinized
heavily
heavily scrutinized, what kind of deal was done here? Is it
a good deal?
Does it Advance the cause for other quarterbacks are going to
be looking for contracts?
Russell Wilson's, gonna set a new bar at some point, Joe
Burrows, going to be looking to set. A new bar
is going to be a stream of guys, every year every year.
So, where's Lamar Jackson fit? Is he going to be an outlier?
An aberration because it's deals, so bad,
or is he going to be in line with what everyone else has done?
So is Deepa shotty.
Was one of the first owners to publicly bellyache about
the DeShaun Watson contract,
he knew what it meant for him, he's got a quarterback who's
injury-prone, because of the way he plays the position and
now he's gonna have to tie up five years of guaranteed money
for that quarterback. And I know that every player wants
all contracts to be fully guaranteed and
for the first round picks. Now, 1 through 30, to the four years
are fully guaranteed, but when you start down the road of
fully guaranteeing, veteran contracts, you know what? That
leads to that leads to a world where teams are carrying on
their books and on their salary cap.
Guys, who aren't getting it done anymore,
guys, who may not be starting guys, who may not be on the team.
So the guys who are playing
this less money for them,
And and look my general position on the salary cap is
it's for the team to figure it out. But if you're going to do
a five-year fully guaranteed contract for a guy who may end
up playing three years and then not
be good enough anymore because an accumulation of injuries
and he still getting paid.
Makes it hard to pay the guys who are out there, getting it
done. So, it's one of the challenges of Lamar Jackson
contract. Will he get five years, fully guaranteed? He
should. He should.
Willy will see.